County commissioner visiting Israel during Gaza unrest

Franklin County Commissioner Paula Brooks says she is fine despite visiting Israel this week
during a period of renewed clashes between Israeli and Palestinian forces.

Brooks, who has been in Israel since Saturday as part of a cultural exchange program that brings
U.S. elected officials to tour and learn about the country, said her trip has largely been unmarred
by the fighting. She's staying in Jerusalem, which was the target of a
first-ever
rocket attack on the city earlier today.

"Yes, there was a rocket that hit the outskirts, nowhere near me. Sirens went off,
but everyone is quite ok here," Brooks wrote in an email."I
expect to be home on time, taking care of budgets Monday. It has been an incredible
experience."

Rocket attacks on Jerusalem and Tel Aviv follow three days of airstrikes by Israeli forces against Palestinian targets
in Gaza, and gave rise to the possibility of an Israeli ground assault.

Brooks is scheduled to fly back Sunday, just in time for the county's 2013 budget
hearings, which begin next week.